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In the Mountain West Conference Volleyball Championship quarterfinals, #3 seed Utah (20-8) defeated #6 seed Wyoming (12-16), 3-1. In the first match Thursday in Las Vegas, Nev., at the Cox Pavilion, the Utes swept the three-game match with scores of 30-24, 30-23, 30-18. With the win Utah advances to Friday's semifinal to face the winner of #2 seed Colorado State and #7 New Mexico.
Utah remained perfect on the year against Wyoming winning its third match in as many games. The Utes outhit the Cowgirls, 50 to 37 and held a .342 to .102 advantage in attack percentage. Utah's hit in the .300 range in all three games, with game two's .389 as the team's highest per-game tally. Wyoming topped out in game two hitting .258, but hit at or below .105 in games one and three.
The Utes' attacking was led by Airial Salvo and Shelly Sommerfeldt. Salvo threw down a match-high 12 kills to Sommerfeldt's 11. Shannon Krug topped all players in assists with her match-high 38. Danielle Leichliter dug out 13 Cowgirl attacks to top all Utes. Utah's front line was active in the blocking department as the Utes blocked a total of 34 (two solo, 32 assisted) Wyoming attacks. Emillie Toon put back a match-high 10 attacks (one solo).
Wyoming received nine kills from both Kelsey Loop and Rachel Smith. Tasha Weishahn tallied 31 assists, while Michelle Weydert had a match-high 15 digs.
No. 3 Utah vs. No. 6 Wyoming Match Notes:
Utah is now 3-0 all-time vs. Wyoming in MWC Tournament play. The Utes also defeated the Cowgirls in the quarterfinals of the 2002 and 2003 MWC Championships.
The Utes have now swept their quarterfinal opponent for the fifth straight year.
Utah freshman Lori Baird set a new MWC Championship record for total blocks by a freshman with seven (one solo, six assists). Baird also had eight kills and a hitting percentage of .429 to lead Utah.
Utah sophomore Emillie Toone collected 10 blocks (one solo, nine assisted) vs. the Cowgirls which tied for the fifth highest block total for a single match in MWC Championship history.
Utah held Wyoming to a team hitting percentage of .102, marking the eighth time this season that the Utes have held an opponent under a .150 efficiency.
